A cobpobation of



D. D. CONDRON.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION man FEB. I0. m9.

1,309,275. Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I Tm: coumau vuuwoan/um co., WASHINGTON, D- c.

D. D. CONDRON.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. ms.

1 ,309,275. Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- jb icrjt fifit ii -i"" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL D. CONDRON, OF PRESCOTT, ARIZONA, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAMS BOLTLESS BAI L JOINT MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PRESCOTT, ARIZONA, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA.

RAIL JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL D. CONDRON, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Prescott, in the county of Yavapai and State of Arizona, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail joints, and is an improvement on the rail joint shown in United States Letters Patent Number 1,030,365, granted to Willis D. Williams Jule 25, 1912, and is, also, an improvement on the rail joint shown in United States Letters Patent Number 1,223,918, granted to the said Willis D. Williams April 24, 1917.

The object of this invention is to provide a rail joint having a removable side clamp and gripping means adapted to tend to narrow the space of the side clamp when the said joint is in place in connection with rail ends.

Another object is to provide a rail joint having a removable side clamp and pulling means adapted to tend to force the said clamp downward toward the adjacent portions of the rail and against adjacent fixed portions of the joint when said joint is in position in connection with rail ends.

Still another object is to provide adjustable means adapted to hold the removable side clamp against longitudinal movement and, also, to exert force tending to hold the said side clamp in operative position relative to the rail when the said joint is in place in connection with rail ends, as hereinafter more particularly described.

Other objects of this invention are hereinafter described, and are set forth in the claims. Moreover, this invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter more particularly described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which like numbers of reference denote like parts wherever they occur,

Figure 1 is a plan view looking down upon a rail joint embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation looking at the removable clamp side of the joint;

Fig. 3 is an elevation looking at the fixed clamp side of the joint opposite the removable clamp side of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line H in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the gripping strap or pull (shown in place in Figs. 1 and 2) removed from the joint;

Fig. 6 is a plan view looking at the underside of the joint;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the removable clamp removed from the joint;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the removable clamp shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the joint with the rail ends and the removable clamp removed therefrom;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a plan view looking down upon the adjacent end portions of the rails adapted to be supported in the joint of this 1nvention.

Base-plate 1 may be provided with transverse ribs 2 on its under side, which are adapted to rest against adjacent longitudinal edges of ties (not shown), and thus hold the joint against lengthwise movement.

Formed integrally with base-plate 1 on one side thereof is a fixed brace 3 provided with inwardly-projecting supporting flange 4 and undercut at 5 to form a flange-receiving recess 6. Webs 7 are rovided for strengthening the brace 3 without adding undue Weight, and buttress fillings 8 are provided adjacent to the end webs as further strengthening means.

On the opposite side of base-plate 1, retaining abutment 9 is provided, said abutment being preferably formed inte rally with the base-plate and being provide with webs 10 and buttresses 11 for the wellknown purpose of strengthening the parts without adding undue weight.

Abutment 9 is provided with a substantially vertical shoulder at 12, against which one of the edges of the flange 13 of rail 14 rests, the other edge of said flange being adapted to be inserted into undercut 5 borne by brace 3, said shoulder 12 and said undercut 5 permitting the rails to be slid into the rail joint with their ends adjacent to each other. Removable clamp 15 bears inwardly-projecting rail-supportin flange 16, and is provided with a beveled edge 17 adapted to bear slidably against a similarly beveled edge 18 borne by abutment 9.

Removable clamp 15 may be adapted to be adjusted into position transversely of the length of the joint, and may be provided with lugs 19, which lugs are adapted to fit into corresponding flanged cuts or apertures borne by abutment 9, the flanges 21 of said cuts or apertures 20 being adapted to engage said lugs 19 in a well-known manner to lock removable clamp 15 against lengthwise movement when the same is in clamping position in the oint. It is understood, however, that a removable clamp adapted to be slidable longitudinally to and from clamping position, such, for instance, as the removable clamp (not shown herein) described in the said United States Letters Patent Number 1,223,918, above referred to, may be substituted for removable clamp 15 herein described by Way of illustration.

Bent bolt 22 is provided with a head 23 at one end thereof, the upper side of said head being adapted to bear against and engage the under side of filling 24 borne by base-plate 1, said filling being disposed between ribs 2 on the bottom of said baseplate 1, and extending around the edge of said base-plate 1 on the side thereof bearing abutment 9, and said filling 24 may extend around said edge and between two abutmentborne webs 10, there being a notch 25 in said filling 24, said notch 25 being adapted to receive a portion of said bent bolt 22 adjacent head The under side of said filling 24 may be beveled or substantially wedge-shaped, with the thin edge of the wedge-shape adjacent the edge of the baseplate 1 and adapted to form an inclined seat 26 for bolt-head 23, as best shown in Fig. 4. The other end of bent bolt 22 is adapted to extend through perforation 27 borne by removable clamp 15, perforation 28 borne by rail 14, and perforation 29 borne by brace 2, said perforations 27, 28, and 29 being adapted to register with each other substantially when the rail joint and parts are in operative position in association with a rail, the terminal portion of said other end of bent bolt 22 being screw-threaded and adapted to receive thereon nut 30 or the like, which is adapted to be screwed into position to bear adjustably against the outer wall of brace 3, as shown, for instance, in Fig, 4, when the said bent bolt 22 and the other parts of the joint are in operative position in association with a rail.

Straight bolt 31 is a standard bolt of wellknown construction, and is adapted to extend through the joint and rail when said oint is in operative position in place upon a rail substantially mutually registerable with perforations32 in brace 3, in a rail, and in removable clamp 15-provided therefor, the head 35 of straight bolt 31 in recess 36 borne by one end of lever 37, in which end of the said lever a perforation 38 is provided substantially registerable with perforations 32, 33, and 34, and adapted to receive said bolt 31 through said perforations 32, 33, 34, and 38, as best seen in Fig. 1, with the said recessed end of lever 37 bearing against the adjacent wall of removable clamp 15 and the screw-threaded end of bolt 31 extended beyond the outer wall of brace 3, nut 38 or the like being provided for said screw-threaded end and being adapted to bear adjust-ably against the said outer wall of brace 3. The other end 39 is substantially hook-shape, as best seen in Fig. 5, and is adapted to extend through perforation 40 borne by base-plate 1 adjacent to the edge thereof on the side of the said baseplate bearing abutment 9, said hook-shaped end 39 being adapted to bear against the underside of said base-plate 1 adjacent to perforation 40 as a fulcrum.

Perforation 28 in the rail may be elongated or otherwise enlarged relative to the size of the portion of bent bolt 22 mounted therein, and perforations 27 and 29, wich are associated with perforation 28, are of a size adapted to [it substantially the portions of bent bolt 22 mounted therein, and, similarly, perforation 33 in the rail may be elongated or otherwise enlarged relative to the size of the portion of straight bolt 31 mounted therein, and perforations 32 and 34 are of a size adapted to fit substantially snugly the portions of bolt 31 mounted therein, the purpose of this construction being to provide limited lay for the rails in the joint, but will restrict the said play with reference to the joint so that the expansion and contraction of the rails will take place within their own lengths, obviating the need for the cut-out portions 41 on the base-flanges of the rails shown in Fig. 11 and the pin (not shown) associated therewith adapted to be mounted in bossed perforation 42 borne by base-plate 1 on the side thereof bearing brace 33.

Hooked lever 37 has its upwardly-extending portion bent inwardly from perforation 38 toward the portion of the outer wall of removable clamp 15 adjacent perforation 34, shoulder 43, borne by the upper-end portion of said lever 37, being in operation adapted to seat against the said portion of the outer wall of said removable clamp 15 adjacent to the said shoulder 43. The arrangement and construction of the lever 37 is such that, in operation, when nut 38 is adjusted on straight bolt 31 and as said nut is tightened to bear against the adjacent, wall of brace 3, bolt head will operate lever 37 to cause shoulder 43 of lever 31 to press removable clamp 15 toward and against the rail in the joint, tending to force the said removable clamp 15 into more intimate clamping association with the rail as beveled edge of removable clamp 15 slides downwardly upon beveled edge 18 of retaining abutment 9.

The operation of adjusting nut 30 to bear tightly against the adjacent Wall of brace 3 exerts force through bent bolt 22, so that the head 23 thereof bearing against inclined seat 26 tends to limit the space adapted for the operation of movable clamp 15 by tending to draw together brace 3 and retaining abutment 9, thus forcing the movable clamp 15 into more intimate clamping position rela tive to a rail in the joint.

Lever 37 may be provided with edge ribs 44 for the well-known purpose of strengthening the parts without adding undue Weight.

Openings 45, borne by base-plate 1 are adapted to lessen the Weight of the baseplate, and openings 46, borne by base-plate 1, are adapted as drain openings for thejoint, the construction of the parts of the joint being such that, in operative position, there may be a narrow channel 4:7 below the flange of the rail and the inner bottom of base-plate 1.

Having thus described this invention, I hereby reserve the benefit of all changes in form, arran ement, order, or use of parts, as it is evigent that many minor changes may be made therein Without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim 1. A rail joint comprising a base-plate, a brace on one side thereof, and a removable clamp on the other side of said base-plate, said brace and said clamp being adapted for supporting the rail-head, said brace and said clamp and said rail bearing sets of perforations, a beveled shoulder formed on the under side of said base-plate adjacent to the edge of the side thereof opposite to said brace, said opposite side of said base-plate being perforated adjacent to the edge thereof, and means mounted in said first-named perforations and operatively adapted to exert force between said brace and said opposite side, said means comprising a bent bolt havin a head adapted to seat upon said bevele shoulder, said bent bolt being adapted to be mounted in a set of said first named perforations with its other end extending beyond the outer wall of said brace, and means borne by the said other end of said bent bolt adapted adjustably to bear against the said outer wall of said brace, and a lever having a hook-shaped end mounted in the perforation in said baseplate and fulcrumed upon the under side of said base-plate, a seat and a perforation formed in the other end of said lever, a bolt having a head adapted to engage said seat, said bolt being adapted to be mounted in another set of said first-named perforations and in the perforation borne by an end of said lever and with the other end of said bolt extending beyond the outer wall of said brace, and means borne by the other end of said bolt adapted adjustably to bear against the said outer wall of said brace.

2. A rail joint comprising a base-plate, a brace on one side thereof, and a removable clamp on the other side of said base-plate, said brace and said clamp being adapted to support the rail-head, said brace, the rail, and said clamp bearing sets of perforations, the perforations of each set being adapted to be in substantial alinement with each other, and sets of means adapted for adjustably exerting pulling force between the said brace and said other side of said base-plate, a set of said means being adapted to be operatively mounted in each set of said perforations, one end of each set of said means being adapted to bear against the under side of said other side of said base-plate, and the other end being adapted to bear adjustably against the outer wall of said brace, each of the perforations borne by the rail being rela tively larger than the portion of the set of said means mounted therein, and each of said perforations borne by said brace and said clamp being adapted substantially to fit the portions of each set of said means mounted therein.

3. A. rail joint comprising a base-plate, a brace on one side thereof, and a removable clamp on the other side of said base-plate, said brace and said clamp being adapted to support the rail-head, said brace, the rail, and said removable clamp being perforated, and means adapted to exert pressure to tend to press said movable clamp operatively toward the rail, said means comprising a lever, a hook-shaped fulcrum end, its other end being perforated and bearing a seat formed around said perforation, said baseplate being perforated adjacent the edge thereof on the side opposite said brace, said lever being adapted to have its said fulcrum end mounted in said last-named perforation, a bolt having its head adapted to engage said seat, said bolt being mounted in the perforation borne by said lever and in the firstnamed perforations, with the other end of said bolt extending beyond the outer wall of said brace, and means borne by the said other end of the bolt and adapt cd for adjustably bearing against the said outer wall of the brace. the perforation in the rail being relatively larger than the portions of said bolt mounted therein, and the perforations in said brace and said clamp being of a size substantially to fit the portion of said bolt mounted therein.

4. A rail joint comprising a base-plate, a brace on one side thereof, and a removable clamp on the other side of said base-plate, said brace and clamp being adapted to support the rail head, said brace, clamp and rail being perforated, a lever, one end of which is hook-shaped and adapted to Seat in a perforation in said base plate, its upper end adjacent said removable clamp, and means for rigidly holding all of said members in operative position.

5. A rail joint comprising a base-plate, a brace on one side thereof, and a removable clamp on the other side of said base plate, said brace and clamp being adapted to support the rail head, said brace, clamp and rail being perforated, a lever, one end of which 10 is hook-shaped and adapted to seat in a perforation in said base plate, its upper face positioned adjacent said removable clamp, and adjustable means for holding said members in position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

DANIEL D. CONDRON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

